Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician who has a net worth of $50 million. Alice Cooper was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles. Among the rock sub-genres for which he is most known are hard rock and heavy metal. He has also worked on glam rock, industrial rock, and a variety of other styles. Cooper's musical style is commonly referred to as “Shock-Rock” by critics, in part because of his usage of theatrical devices such as guillotines, swords, and electric chairs on stage. Alice Cooper has pursued a variety of other interests outside of music, the most notable of which has been acting in cinema and television.
Early Life
Alice Cooper's real name is Vincent Damon Furnier, and he was born on the 4th of February, 1948, in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Furnier was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and he comes from a religious family that has always been interested in the city's affairs. His father was an Evangelist for the Church of Jesus Christ, and his grandpa was an apostle in the same church who rose through the ranks to become the church's first president. As a young boy, Vincent Furnier was actively involved in church activities, but he was also sick a lot of the time. Eventually, he and his family relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, where he attended Cortez High School until his graduation in 2007.
Early Career
Furnier made it known during his high school years that he wished to pursue a career as a successful music artist. For a school talent event, he persuaded some of his pals to form a faux band and perform songs from the Beatles, which they did successfully. Glen Buxton and Dennis Dunaway were among the members of the ensemble, both of whom would go on to form the band, Alice Cooper. Because only Buxton knew how to play the guitar, the others imitated him while they played their instruments. Their performance was well received by the audience, and they have crowned the winners of the talent show. After hearing this, they were inspired to form a legitimate band.
The Spiders were formed after the adolescents changed their names and obtained instruments from a nearby pawn shop. Michael Bruce joined the band as a guitarist in 1966, shortly after graduating from high school in the state of California. At this point, they released a track titled “Don't Blow Your Mind,” which was a big hit in their home country and garnered widespread attention nationwide. By 1967, the band had become so accustomed to coming to Los Angeles for gigs that they decided to make the city their permanent home. A drummer named Neal Smith joined the band at this stage in the music's history.
About Alice Cooper
Furnier devised a strategy to help the band stand out from the crowd in 1968. As part of his plan to transform their live performances into dark theatrical presentations, he suggested that they alter the band's name to “Alice Cooper.” In addition to the fact that it sounded innocent, he recommended it since it would contrast with the band's contentious attitude to playing.
To avoid other bands with the same name bringing legal action against the group, Vincent Furnier legally changed his name to Alice Cooper by 1975. Finally, the persona of Alice Cooper was changed into a female villain, complete with ragged clothes and makeup that was splattered all over her face. This resulted in a significant amount of interest, and the band was featured prominently in the media – just what Furnier (now Alice Cooper) desired.
Record Deal
Alice Cooper's big break occurred as a result of a bad performance. As soon as they began playing, almost every member of the crowd fled the club in protest. Shep Gordon, a music manager, was one among the few people who survived. He recognized the band's potential and arranged for them to perform an audition with Frank Zappa.
Zappa had recently launched a new record label, and he was on the lookout for unusual and interesting performers to sign on with it. Alice Cooper managed to impress Frank Zappa to the point where he signed them to a three-year contract. Alice Cooper's debut studio album, Pretties for You, was released not long after the incident. The band's debut album, released in 1969, had a psychedelic tint that contrasted with their subsequent hard rock sound, and it was a critical and economic disaster.
During this period, Alice Cooper began to polish their “Shock Rock” approach to living performances, which they called “Shock Rock” for short. After an event with a chicken produced widespread media panic, Alice Cooper realized the importance of supplying the media with even more ludicrous stories. In response to a news publication reporting mistakenly that Cooper had drunk the blood of a chicken on stage, Zappa advised the budding rock star not to reject the allegations to help the band's developing reputation.
Despite the attention they received from the media, they were unable to make a breakthrough. When their second studio album, Easy Action, was released in 1970, the band's performance was much poorer than that of their first. Alice Cooper and his band decided to leave Los Angeles and relocate to Michigan, where their show was more well-received.
Breakthrough
In 1970, Alice Cooper released their third album following a string of successful live appearances. Because Love It to Death was their final shot at success, all of their efforts paid off. Warner Bros. acquired their contract and re-released their album with an enhanced marketing budget after their hit single “I'm Eighteen” did well on the charts, leading to even greater popularity.
In 1971 and 1972, they released Killer and School's Out. The song “School's Out,” which topped the charts and became an enduring rock anthem, was on the second album. The band's most commercially successful album, Billion Dollar Babies, was released in 1973 and went platinum. “No More Mr. Nice Guy” was a single from the album. Political and activist groups were outraged by the band's dark performances on the following tour.
The band's final album, Muscle of Love, was released in 1973. Even though the break was temporary, it eventually became a permanent one due to disagreements. After moving to Los Angeles, Alice Cooper (the person) started appearing on series like Hollywood Squares. Welcome to My Nightmare, his debut solo album was released in 1975. After Cooper's solo triumph, the band disbanded permanently.
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Decline
Alice Cooper was hospitalized for treatment in 1977 after a long struggle with alcoholism. Cooper recorded a slew of albums in the 1980s that he had no recollection of recording because he was too high on drugs and alcohol to recall them. The term “blackout” was used for this period. The majority of these albums were a commercial failure.
The rise and fall of glam rock and the rise of grunge in the late 1980s gave him some hope that his music may make a comeback. Toward the end of the 2000s, Alice Cooper began to experiment with industrial metal as a response to shifting music trends. Both Rob Zombie's 2010 tour and Motley Crue's 2014 tour featured him. Alice Cooper has been in numerous TV shows and movies during his career.
Personal Life
Alice and his wife have resided in a beautiful hillside estate in Phoenix, Arizona for many years. That Alice is a talented golfer who routinely outplays past pros in celebrity Pro-Am events may surprise many people.
